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Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

nytimes.com

1–10 of 88 posts

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#2
I don't doubt that this is all true, but he diet pre-Nestle was hardly superb, Brigadeiro, flan, lots of meat, croquettes, tons of bread... you could do plenty of harm with those traditional foods. What the were not however, was heavily and aggressively marketed, ultra-cheap, and essentially never spoil.

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#3
post #2

I don't doubt that this is all true, but he diet pre-Nestle was hardly superb, Brigadeiro, flan, lots of meat, croquettes, tons of bread... you could do plenty of harm with those traditional foods. What the were not however, was heavily and aggressively marketed, ultra-cheap, and essentially never spoil.

The traditional meal of beans, rice, meat and veggies, is much better than a lot of countries.

Even the "junk" foods you mention are still considerably better than empty corporate garbage like cheetos and soda pop.

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#4
As an American who lived in Brazil for 8 years, honestly I'm not sure this is any worse than traditional food.

A typical Brazilian lunch is a piece of meat with beans, sides of rice, french fries, and fried flour (farofa) -- that's right, 3 carbs of empty calories (2 fried) and no real vegetables -- all washed down with mostly-added-sugar "fruit juice concentrate" (cashew apple is really common). Bar snacks are 100% deep-fried, or "pizza" with copious amounts of sugary ketchup (don't ask). Desserts are the sweetest things your tongue has ever touched -- brigadeiros, pudim, essentially all just super-sweet condensed milk.

It's not like the traditional Brazilian diet is full of fresh veggies or nutritional variety at all. I mean, I thought us Americans loved our french fries... but the Brazilians have got us beat!

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#5

As an American who lived in Brazil for 8 years, honestly I'm not sure this is any worse than traditional food. A typical Brazilian lunch is a piece of meat with beans, sides of rice, french fries, and fried flour (farofa) -- that's right, 3 carbs of empty calories (2 fried) and no real vegetables -- all washed down with mostly-added-sugar "fruit juice concentrate" (cashew apple is really common). Bar snacks are 100%…

You might even get mashed sweet potatoes when you want mashed potatoes, as I learned the hard way.

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#6
post #2

I don't doubt that this is all true, but he diet pre-Nestle was hardly superb, Brigadeiro, flan, lots of meat, croquettes, tons of bread... you could do plenty of harm with those traditional foods. What the were not however, was heavily and aggressively marketed, ultra-cheap, and essentially never spoil.

The traditional meal of beans, rice, meat and veggies, is much better than a lot of countries. Even the "junk" foods you mention are still considerably better than empty corporate garbage like cheetos and soda pop.

Especially considering pre-processed foods.

Even though there use pie charts (no pun intended), I liked this visualization.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/what-the-world-eats/

https://fstoppers.com/food/what-week-groceries-looks-around-...

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#7

As an American who lived in Brazil for 8 years, honestly I'm not sure this is any worse than traditional food. A typical Brazilian lunch is a piece of meat with beans, sides of rice, french fries, and fried flour (farofa) -- that's right, 3 carbs of empty calories (2 fried) and no real vegetables -- all washed down with mostly-added-sugar "fruit juice concentrate" (cashew apple is really common). Bar snacks are 100%…

don't forget the caipirinha, usually a double or triple shot of sugarcane rum mixed with sugar syrup and fruit juice (more sugar)... sometimes served with granulated cane sugar on the rim of the glass. needless to say, it gets you hammered in a hurry. or the local beer...

honestly i think the healthiest restaurant food i saw in brazil was the appetizer salad bar at the churrascaria, which is of course the kind of place where you eat until you literally can eat no more.

and, i'm fairly certain brazil was an extreme early adopter of pay-by-the-kilo buffets, if not the birthplace.

the traditional non-european food (apart from churr.) is basically modernized slave food - huge amounts of carb-based calories and deep fried food, for cheap, usually in the form of dense stews with starchy sides. southern/cajun food is very similar.

luckily, brazilians are an incredibly active people whose entertainment culture is centered around outdoor activities, and most of them do not indulge in meals out very often, but as with all other societies that become more affluent over time, the modern less-active lifestyle mixed with the traditional diet is not good.

Re: Western fast food companies are aggressively expanding in Brazil

#10
Not to mention we brazilians have been bombarded with fast-food joints in the past few years. My little hometown with no more than 90k habitants got its first Subway. And last year the first Taco Bell in the country came to São Paulo. This is the only one I would miss actually, as I've had enough from the traditional fast-food places.
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